U podne obično jedemo ručak.

U podne means at noon or at midday.

• podne = noon / midday
• u here is part of a common time expression, so together u podne functions like English at noon

So even though u often means in or into, in expressions like this it is best learned as a fixed phrase: u podne = at noon.

Because Croatian normally uses u for this kind of time expression.

Common patterns:

• u podne = at noon
• u ponoć = at midnight
• u pet sati = at five o’clock
• u ponedjeljak = on Monday

So na podne is not the normal standard way to say at noon in this sentence.

Obično means usually.

In U podne obično jedemo ručak, it tells you this is a habitual action, not just something happening once.

Its position is fairly flexible. Croatian word order is not as fixed as English word order. For example, these are also possible:

• Obično u podne jedemo ručak.
• U podne jedemo ručak obično. (less neutral in many contexts)
• Ručak obično jedemo u podne.

The original order sounds natural and neutral.

Jedemo is the 1st person plural present tense form of jesti (to eat).

So:

• jedem = I eat
• jedeš = you eat
• jede = he/she/it eats
• jedemo = we eat
• jedete = you (plural/formal) eat
• jedu = they eat

In this sentence, jedemo means we eat.

Because Croatian usually does not need subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the subject.

Here, -emo in jedemo already tells you the subject is we.

So:

• Jedemo ručak. = We eat lunch.

You can add mi if you want emphasis or contrast:

• Mi obično jedemo ručak u podne, a oni kasnije.
  • We usually eat lunch at noon, but they eat later.

Yes, both are possible.

• jedemo ručak = we eat lunch
• ručamo = we have/eat lunch

The sentence uses the very transparent pattern verb + object:

• jesti = to eat
• ručak = lunch

A Croatian speaker could also naturally say:

• U podne obično ručamo.

Both are correct. Ručamo is just a single verb meaning we have lunch / we eat lunch.

Here ručak is the direct object of jedemo, so it is in the accusative singular.

Because ručak is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative singular looks the same as its nominative singular:

• nominative: ručak
• accusative: ručak

So the form does not visibly change, even though the grammatical case does.

In u podne, the noun appears in a form that looks the same as the basic dictionary form, so there is no obvious ending change for the learner to notice.

The most useful thing is to learn u podne as a fixed expression meaning at noon.

So instead of trying to translate word by word, it is often best to remember:

• u podne = at noon

Because Croatian has no articles like English a / an / the.

So ručak can mean:

• lunch
• the lunch

Which one is intended depends on context. In this sentence, English naturally says lunch, but Croatian simply uses ručak without any article.

Yes. Croatian word order is fairly flexible, and changing it usually changes emphasis, not the core meaning.

For example:

• U podne obično jedemo ručak.
  Neutral; starts with the time.

• Obično jedemo ručak u podne.
  Slightly emphasizes the idea of usually.

• Ručak obično jedemo u podne.
  Emphasizes lunch.

All of these can mean basically the same thing: We usually eat lunch at noon.

Not necessarily. Croatian present tense can describe:

• something happening now
• a regular habit
• a general truth

Here, because of obično (usually), the meaning is clearly habitual:

• U podne obično jedemo ručak.
• We usually eat lunch at noon.

So this is not primarily about what is happening at this exact moment; it is about a routine.